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Joined 1 month ago
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Cake day: June 2nd, 2024

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  • I’m not sure if you’re getting it, so I’ll explain just in case.

    In computer science a few conventions have emerged on how numbers should be interpreted, depending on how they start:

    • decimal (the usual system with digits from 0 to 9): no prefix
    • binary (digits 0 and 1): prefix 0b, so 0b1001110
    • octal (digits 0 through 7): prefix 0, so 0116
    • hexadecimal (digits 0 through 9 and then A through E): prefix 0x, so 0x8E

    If your zip code starts with 9, it won’t be interpreted as octal. You’re fine.











  • For those who don’t know:

    Speaking at a software conference in 2009, Tony Hoare hyperbolically apologized for “inventing” the null reference:[26] [27]

    I call it my billion-dollar mistake. It was the invention of the null reference in 1965. At that time, I was designing the first comprehensive type system for references in an object oriented language (ALGOL W). My goal was to ensure that all use of references should be absolutely safe, with checking performed automatically by the compiler. But I couldn’t resist the temptation to put in a null reference, simply because it was so easy to implement. This has led to innumerable errors, vulnerabilities, and system crashes, which have probably caused a billion dollars of pain and damage in the last forty years.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hoare